Mahayana Buddhism Influence

The hypothesis of this religious study will define the influence of Mahayana Buddhist principles in the teachings of the Bodhidharma in Chinese society. The Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices is a crucial document in the teachings of the Bodhidharma, which define the “true nature” of enlightenment as being within all sentient beings. In this manner, the Two Entrances define the (1) “the entrance principle” and (2) “entrance of practice” of enlightenment, which allows people from all classes to practice mediation and the Buddhist way. The Bodhidharma brought a non-hierarchical form of Buddhism to the Chinese people that defined the collectivist ideology of the “people’s ideology” as a part of Chinese culture in the development of the Chan School. In essence, the influence of Mahayana Buddhism will be analyzed in the teachings of the Bodhidharma in The Treatise on the Two Entrances and …show more content…
The influence of the Mahayana text of Lankavatara Sutra is a major part of the teachings in the “Two Entrances and Four Practices”, which defined the Bodhidharma’s non-elitist view of “true nature” in the practice of Chan Buddhism. In this manner, the practice of Buddhist enlightenment was no longer restricted to the monasteries and elite classes, which defined the Mahayana principles in the formation of the “people’s ideology” through the leadership of the Bodhidharma. Therefore, the practice of Buddhism was for all members of society, and not just in terms of hierarchical Buddhist traditions. The Bodhidharma provided a way for the common people to practice Buddhism through the “Two Entrances and Four Practices” as a means of forging a new Chinese identity for the people’s ideology to form as a historical precedence in the development of the early Chan Buddhist